Outcomes of children receiving Group-Early Start Denver Model in an inclusive versus autism-specific setting: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

A major topic of debate is whether children with autism spectrum disorder should be educated in inclusive or specialized settings. We examined the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of delivering the Group-Early Start Denver Model to children with autism spectrum disorder in inclusive versus specialized classrooms. We randomly assigned 44 preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder to receive the Group-Early Start Denver Model across one school calendar year in classrooms that included only children with autism spectrum disorder or mostly children who were typically developing.